Eyeglass lens drilling machine



April 13, 1937. A ROCHTE 2,077,266

EYEGLASS LENS DRILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 9, 1954 l'. v k

Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES a WW PATENT oF 'FiCi '5 Claims.

Myinvention concerns machines or devices "for drilling "holes in eyeglass lenses for the*attach ment to the'lenses-of the nose and bow pieces, or parts used in the frameless type-of glasses.

'5 My object is to provide -a machine of simple and compact construction by which such drilling may be'done rapidly and efiiciently, to the end that the minimum of time shallbe required for the operation and "with the highest "degree of convenience to "the Optician or operator and Without breakage or-other damage-Ito the lens. I illustrate in the drawing what I now consider the most complete and satisfactory embodiment of my *mven'tion, but it to be understood that I do not'con'fin'e the scope-of myprotection to that particular embodiment thereof, as changes maybe made which, though di'fierent in form therefrom, will nevertheless embody 'the principle "of'my invention.

Briefly describing in a preliminary way -what is shown in the drawing that embodiment of my'inventionywillbefound to-comprise, mounted compactly ona portalble base, a drill device prop- -er comprising a lens support and adrilling tool,

" an electric motor Tor revolving the tool, a drill point grinder-or sharpener in the form of an emery wheel -or disc and belt-form driving connections between the motor and the drill tool and the grinding disc. Itis-oneof the features or my invention that when fthe drill tool requires Sharpeningjt 'may'be 'detachedfrom its rotating mechanism without stopping the latter and placed incontactwith the sharpening disc so that nothing moreis required thanto'withdraw the drill from its rotating .means by a simple motion, and .then by movement -of .it but a'short distance pply its ,point to the sharpening disc andthen by equally simple and easily per'formed motions, restore the drill tool to its driving mechanism to resume the drilling operation with the minimum .loss of :time. .Thus drilling and sharpening operations may berperformed ;in such close sequence -.as in effect to .make .them a continuous operati0n so that there is .practically no interruption in the drill operation. The embod- .iment nof my invention shown-in -.the drawing I will be found to {possess other important attributes :as will :later appear from the detailed de- '50 soription given hereinafter of such embodiment of :my invention.

:In the drawing: 7 Fig. 1 is :an elevation 20f such embodiment :of myiinventioni Fig. 21s :a top :plan view thereof;

Fig. -3Iis a vertical section through the drilling devicesproper.

Fig. :4 is -13} transverse section 1 in a plane passing vertically -:through :the shaft which carries the grinding :or sharpening disc.

Describing in detail what is shown "inthe"drawing, the base 1-0 is .a flat oblong member upon which istmountednearone end an. induction :motor 1 l, and upon which .at the other-end :is 'a standard 1-2, upon which the drilling :devices 3.1'0 proper 1 are mounted, andtbetween -the motor-and said standard is mounted onk'the "basewa vertical standard l3 which has a horizontal :bearing :for the shaft-of'the sharpening :disc.

A drilling member is mounted on :the stand- $15 ard 12 and acomprises the drill -l 4 whiohis sa slender cylindrical steel rod with oneend. sharpened to a point to provide characteristic :drill :cutting edges and a drill'stem 1T5:havingza hand-piece-or push-head ifi-zat 'one-end thereof. The drill Mtis securediin the.longitudinallyextending opening. in a-cylindrioal stem 1.5 with itsucutting end below the bottom'of suchrstemgandzto lJhG'tOP Of the stemsis swivelled aspush-head 16, to enablerpressure -to :be zapplied'by the finger-of the operator 2'2 .tossecure cuttingcontact of the drill with the lens. The push-head i6 is swivelled :because the :drill stem :is "adapted "to be rotated .at high speed 'by a 'tubularrspindle 1-1, between which, .and she:.stem,.isza' readily separable driving con- .nection to enable the stem-with the :drill to -be removed as I have before wexplainedqto enable the sharpening of the drill. The clutohconnection sho-wnis simply a radial gpin -:I'81proj cting fIOl'l'ldlhBSidBaOflthG drill stem :justbelow-the "35 .swivelledrhea'd l 6, and a radial 'rnotch L9 in the upper end of thespindle intoandout-of which the, radial pin maybe :placed. Secured to the upper-endofythe spindle Fl :is'a belt ipulley :20 which hereinafter explained, -40 :is drivingly connected with the electric motor.

The;drill spindle I1 is journalled in a-vertical Below the drill point a lens support 24'issituated that zconsists of a vertical .metal post in axial alignment :of the drill axis and which'ds .55

firmly supported by a horizontal bracket 25 which projects from the arm 22. Preferably, said post is held in position by a screw 26 which enables whatever vertical adjustment of the post may be found desirable. For a. drilling operation, the lens, of course, is held fiatwise on the top of the post or support 24, and in order to closely or accurately hold the lens in position against sidewise movement, its peripheral edge is engaged by a gauge 21. The latter is preferably a screw whose threaded shank engages a threaded hole in the arm 22, in order that the outer lens-edge engaging end of the gauge may be closely adjusted to position with reference to the drill. Preferably, the lens-edge engaging surface of the gauge is some material which will not break or chip the contacting parts of the lens and this may be supplied by a fiber plug 28 set in an opening in the outer end of the gauge-forming screw. A set screw 29 is provided to lock the gauge in adjusted position.

The drill I4 is movably and removably secured to the drill stem l5 so that there may be longitudinal adjustment to compensate for wear and so that a new drill may be substituted for one that is no longer useful. It is desirable to enable the necessary movements of the drill and its removal to be done as quickly as possible to avoid waste of time and, I accordingly secure the drill to the stem by means of a cement which, while eflicient when cold, upon application of heat to stem will release the drill. The cement I prefer to use, is a wax cement.

The horizontal shaft 30 upon which is mounted the emery disc 3| passes through a brass bushing 32 mounted in the upper end of the standard [3, and upon the side of the standard opposite the emery wheel 3| is affixed to said shaft a grooved driving pulley 33, which by a belt 34 is connected with the driving pulley 35 of the electric motor I l. Alongside the pulley 33 is a smaller belt pulley 36 which by a belt 31 is connected with the spindle pulley 20, and thus the latter and the drill receive motion from the motor by way of the belt connections with the grinding wheel shaft 30. To tighten the belt 34 the electric motor is supported by an arm 38 which is pivoted at one end to a lug 39 by a screw device 40 which is set to secure the desired tension on the belt 34. And to enable the belt 31 to be readily tightened, the spindle carrying arm 22 is connected by a pivot 4i with the standard l2, and an arm-adjusting screw 42, which engages a horizontally threaded hole in the standard l2, and at its inner end bears against a part of arm 22 below its pivot 4| to exert pressure against such arm to swing it in a direction to tighten the belt 31.

For the convenient and accurate support of a drill requiring sharpening, a drill rest is provided in the form of an arm 43 which extends tangentially at a downward incline from a point close to the pheriphery of the emery wheel and which is mounted upon a vertical standard 44 rising from the base l0 substantially midway between the standards l2 and I3, and thus the drill rest is the minimum distance from the drill spindle so that the removal of the drill for sharpening and its replacement after sharpening may be effected with the minimum amount of movement by the operator and with the minimum loss of time, on account of resharpening of the drill. In Fig. l, the drill is shown in dotted lines on the rest.

For the easy and convenient lubrication of the emery wheel shaft 30, oil holding packing 45 is placed in a vertical hole in the top of the standard l3 with the oil screw 46 bearing upon the top thereof, the bushing 32, of course, having in its periphery a hole that aligns with the packing. The bushing 32 may be readily removed for replacement when necessary.

Preferably, as a part of the equipment a reamer 4! is provided for reaming the lens hole after it has been drilled. Such reamer is of hard steel and of tapering form with a shape that is angular in cross section providing reaming edges. Such reamer 41 can be removably secured to the emery wheel shaft, as by having a shank at one end thereof thrust into an axial hole in one end of such shaft. The emery wheel provides a ready and advantageous means of sharpening the reamer when necessary.

I preferably usean electric motor of the induction type because it assures a uniform speed at all times. And as the motor is supplied with a suitable plug connector my machine is wholly portable as a unit, and may be placed for use in such position as may be most convenient or advantageous.

In view of the foregoing description, only a brief explanation of the drilling of a lens is necessary. The operator first marks by hand the places where the holes are to be drilled and then the lens is placed on the lens support 24, and with its edge in contact with the gauge so that the marked spot to be drilled is immediately below the sharpened end of the drill. Then a drop of suitable oil having been applied to the drill end, and with the drill in rapid rotation, the drill is pressed downward by finger pressure on the push-head [6 in order to place the drill in contact with the lens and to feed the drill as cutting proceeds, and at short intervals during the drilling should be lifted from the lens to allow the oil to pass-from; the surface under the cutting end of the drill. When the hole is out half way through the; lens, the lens should be turned over and accurately positioned for the drilling of the hole from the opposite side until the two holes meet and completion of the hole is eifected. Then the reamer is used to ream out the hole.

While, as required by the statute, I have set forth in full detail the machine illustrated in the drawing as an excellent embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not confine the scope of my protection to a machine having such construction shown and described; and of course, I consider myself entitled to protection for the features of my invention which are applicable to other than lens-drilling machines.

In the claims, the term drill or drilling member contemplates and embraces the drilling element, per se, l4 and the drill stem l5 either as an element separate or separable from the drill [4, per se, or as an integral part thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A lens drilling machine comprising a hollow vertical drill spindle, a lens support to and from which said spindle is longitudinally movable, a drill having separable driving connection with said spindle and removable bodily therefrom, a pulley fixed to the drill spindle to receive rotation to rotate the spindle, means yieldingly holding the spindle and drill away from the support comprising a coil spring encircling the spindle, and bearing at one end against said pulley, and a relatively fixed bearing for the other end of the spring, and means for applying feeding pressure to the drill during drilling operation comprising a head adapted for direct application of the fingers thereto and situated above the drivingconnection between the drill and the spindle, the drill being removable from the spindle by upward movement therefrom.

2. A lens drilling device comprising a lens,

support, a drill in the form of a slender rod, a vertical hollow spindle situated above the support into and from which the drill is movable by vertical movement and from the lower end of which, the cutting lower end of the drill projects to engage the lens, a vertical bearing arm supporting said drill spindle in which the spindle with the drill is vertically movable to carry the cutting end of the drill towards and from a lens upon said lens support, a driving pulley upon the spindle above said arm, a coil spring around the spindle between the underside of the pulley and the top of said arm, a separable driving connection between the upper end of the spindle and the drill that permits removal of the drill from the spindle, and a pressure-receiving head attached to the drill above such driving connection adapted for direct pressure contact of the fingers.

3. A lens drilling device comprising a lens support, a drill in the form of a slender rod, a vertical hollow spindle situated above the support into and from which the drill is movable by vertical movement and from the lower end of which, the cutting lower end of the drill projects to engage the lens, a vertical bearing arm supporting said drill spindle in which the spindle with the drill is vertically movable to carry the cutting end of the drill towards and from a lens upon said lens support, a driving pulley upon the spindle above said arm, a coil spring around the spindle between the underside of the pulley and the top of said arm, a separable driving connection between the upper end of the spindle and the drill that permits removal of the drill from 40 the spindle, a pressure-receiving head attached to the drill above such driving connection adapted for direct pressure contact of the fingers, a base, a pivotal connection between such base and said spindle supporting arm, a motor driven pulley on said base, a belt connecting the two pulleys, and means to secure the spindle supporting arm against movement on said pivotal connection, said pivotal connection being at right angles to the direction of pull of belt on the arm.

4. In a lens drilling machine, a support having a bearing opening therein of substantial area, a rotatable hollow spindle slidably mounted in said bearing, means for rotating the spindle, a drilling member slidably mounted in said hollow spindle and extending from the ends of the spindle, said drilling member including a tubular sleeve slidably and fittedly mounted in said spindle and a drilling element, a hand piece mounted in one end of said sleeve, the drilling element being fitted in the other end of the sleeve and made fast thereto by heat plastic material which is normally cool, means for detachably connecting said drilling member with said spindle and which comprises the end of said spindle nearest the hand piece having a notched edge and a fixed projection on said drilling member .to releasably extend in said notch.

5. In a lens drilling machine, a support having a bearing opening therein of substantial area, a rotatable spindle slidably mounted in said opening for movement toward and from the work to be operated upon, means for yieldably maintaining said spindle away from the work, means for rotating thespindle, a drilling member mounted on the spindle, a hand piece connected to one end of the drilling member whereby the spindle and drilling member may be manually moved toward the work when the hand piece is depressed, and said drilling member and hand piece being slidable relative to the spindle, and means for detachab-ly connecting the drilling member with the spindle comprising releasable interengaging parts on the spindle and drilling member, said parts being engaged and disengaged by movement of the hand piece.

- AUGUSTINE T. ROCI-ITE. 

